LANDMARK CASES (6) (Right of Accused)

Wolf v. Colorado (1949)

(4th amendment) The Court applied protections against unreasonable search and seizure to the states under the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court ruled that evidence obtained without a search warrant was excluded from trial in state courts.

United States v. Leon (1984)

(4th amendment) The Court established the good faith exception to the exclusionary rule.

Nix v. Williams (1984)

(4th amendment) The Court established the inevitable discovery rule, allowing evidence discovered as the result of an illegal search to be introduced if it can be shown that the evidence would have been found anyway.

Mapp v. Ohio (1961)

(4th amendment) The Court ruled that evidence obtained without a search warrant was excluded from trial in state courts. Mapp v. Ohio involved the application of the exclusionary rule to the states. The exclusionary rule is the Court's effort to deter illegal police conduct by barring from court evidence that has been obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment.

Terry v. Ohio (1968)

(4th amendment) The Court ruled that searches of criminal suspects are constitutional and police may search suspects for safety purposes.

Miranda v. Arizona (1966)

(5th amendment) The Court ruled that suspects in police custody have certain rights and that they must be informed of those rights (right to remain silent, right to an attorney). Powell v. Alabama (1932)—The Court established that the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees defendants in death penalty cases the right to an attorney.

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

(6th amendment) The Court ruled that in state trials, those who cannot afford an attorney will have one provided by the state, overturning Betts v. Brady.

Betts v. Brady (1942)

(6th amendment) The Court ruled that poor defendants in non-capital cases are not entitled to an attorney at government expense.

Escobedo v. Illinois (1964)

(6th amendment) The Supreme Court extended the exclusionary rule to illegal confessions in state court cases. The Court also defined the "Escobedo rule," which stated that persons have the right to an attorney when an investigation begins "to focus on a particular suspect." If the suspect has been arrested, has requested an attorney, and has not been warned of his or her right to remain silent, the suspect has been "denied council in violation of the Sixth Amendment."

Gregg v. Georgia (1976)

(8th amendment) In this case, the death penalty was constitutional because it was imposed based on the circumstances of the case.

Furman v. Georgia (1972)

(8th amendment) The Court ruled the death penalty unconstitutional under existing state law because it was imposed arbitrarily.